Jumping without Parachutes
by Maririn
Summary: Duo travels to earth when Heero calls him out of the blue after 15 years of silence. Stuck in Heero's small apartment, the two reminisce and find that time changes everything and nothing. Now Complete! For the Endless Reflection Challenge.
1. The Functionality of Sporks

_For the Endless Reflection Challenge. WIP, more chapters to come before the June 1, 2015 deadline. :P_

 _Disclaimer: I do not own any of the characters, no copyright infringement intended. Substance of the story is my own._

* * *

 ** _The Functionality of Sporks_**

* * *

"Wait, say that again?" Duo Maxwell asked in disbelief.

"I broke my leg." Heero Yuy repeated tonelessly.

"Yeah, I can see that," Duo replied, gesturing at Heero's right leg that was currently suspended from the ceiling. "And I bet you did more than just break it."

Heero nodded. "3 fractures, one clean break and torn ligaments in my knee."

"Well that explains this," Duo lightly tapped on the plaster encasing Heero's leg from heel to mid-thigh.

"I also have a fractured collar bone and three bruised ribs."

"Of course," Duo responded sarcastically. "Anything else?"

"Some bruising, cuts and scrapes."

"Uh huh," Duo nodded, "and this happened how?"

"I fell off my neighbour's roof."

Duo rubbed at his face, his callused fingertips scraping against his stubble. "And you were on your neighbour's roof because…?" he asked in exasperation.

"Her granddaughter's cat got up on the roof and couldn't get down."

"Right…" Duo pinched the bridge of his nose as he felt the beginnings of a full-blown headache fast-approaching. "You want me to believe that you, Mr. Perfect Soldier, fell off a roof?"

"It was slippery, the shingles were covered in frost," Heero replied almost defensively.

"O-K-" Duo drawled out the two syllables. "So you fell off your neighbour's roof because of a cat?"

"It was slippery," Heero repeated sullenly.

"Yeah, we covered that. And you weren't up there chasing some terrorist or maybe even a thief?" Duo asked almost hopefully.

"No."

"So there's no big threat to earth or the colonies?"

"No."

"A regional threat then?"

"No."

"A threat to the city even?"

"No."

"A threat to your neighbourhood?"

"No."

"A threat to you then?"

"No."

"You're sure?"

"Yes."

Duo sighed heavily and slumped back against the wall, letting the stark white wall bear his weight. "So let me get this straight. I don't hear from you for close to 15 years. All of a sudden I get a message using our old war codes asking me, no telling me to come to New York. I drop everything and haul ass from L2 with my war kit," Duo pointed to the leather duffle at his feet, "and I get to the hospital thinking you've been injured trying to stop the next Operation Meteor or that you were being held here against your will or something and you're telling me that you fell off your neighbour's roof because of a cat!?"

"Yes."

"And you called me why?" Duo demanded hoarsely.

"They're discharging me today."

"So?"

"I can't use crutches."

"Because of your ribs and collarbone," Duo nodded wearily. "They've given you a chair." Duo pointed to the wheelchair sitting next to the bed.

"My apartment building doesn't have an elevator."

"And? I still don't see what that's got to do with me…" Duo trailed off as the gears in his exhausted brain finally clicked into place.

"You have got to be fucking kidding me!"

* * *

"You just had to pick the top floor," Duo huffed as he trudged up the last few steps. "Which one?"

"511," Heero replied through clenched teeth.

"Aw, shit Heero, the end of the hall? Seriously?" Duo huffed as he adjusted his fireman's carry. Heero groaned in pain as the shift in position jostled his broken ribs.

"I'd say sorry but like I just said, you just had to pick the top floor," Duo grunted as he maneuvered Heero off his shoulder and propped him up against the wall next to the door labeled '511'. "Keys?"

Heero reached gingerly into his coat pocket and produce a set of keys.

Duo cracked a wry grin as he plucked the keys from Heero's hand. "And here I was looking forward to busting down your door."

"You could easily pick the lock," Heero retorted.

"Left my lock picks in the car."

"They're not in your braid?" Heero asked before his eyes widened in surprise. "Your braid!"

"Huh? You just noticed?" Duo's grin widened as he tugged at the roll of hair secured to the nape of his neck.

Heero blinked in confusion. "But why? The braid was more practical than whatever that is…"

"It's a man bun," Duo declared with a twinkle in his eye as he pushed open the door to Heero's apartment, "and I'll have you know it's a hit with the ladies!"

"You said you'd never cut off your braid," Heero stubbornly clung to the topic despite Duo's obvious attempts to laugh it off.

"A mishap in the shop proved me wrong. And to be honest, it was time to let go. Now," Duo slung Heero's good arm over his shoulder. "I hope you're up for a short walk because I'm tired of lugging you around."

Heero grunted in reply as he leaned heavily on Duo's shoulder and limped into his apartment.

"Cozy," Duo commented as he took stock of his surroundings. "I'd never have pegged you for settling in a place like this."

"Hn."

"'Hn' he says," Duo muttered to himself as he levered Heero onto the surprisingly comfortable looking couch. "Sit tight for now and let me get my bearings," Duo commanded as he carefully propped Heero's foot on top of some pillow's he'd placed on the coffee table.

"I'll head out and pick up your meds," Duo said as he wiped the sweat from his brow. "You'd think the hospital pharmacy would actually be stocked with your meds."

"You should wear a jacket," Heero remarked from the couch.

"I'll be fine," Duo replied, rolling down the sleeves of his black button-down shirt.

"Don't be stupid, the weather forecast says it's going to start snowing again."

"Yeah, I know that Heero," Duo responded wearily. "We watched the forecast in the hospital together remember?"

"You didn't bring a jacket," Heero surmised. "You haven't changed, still rushing into things without a proper plan."

"Yeah? And you're still a dick!" Duo retorted. "You really want to piss off the guy that just hauled you up five flights of stairs? The guy who's got your prescription? The guy that just made a 20 hour trip from the colonies? The guy who's going to be bunking with you for the next six weeks?"

"You can borrow a coat," Heero nodded his head towards the closet next to the door.

Duo opened the door to the coat closet and paused in surprise. "For a guy who used to run around in just a wife-beater and spandex shorts, you sure got a lot of coats."

"Take the gray one, it's the warmest."

"Thanks," Duo glanced out of the living room windows. "On second thought, I'm going to check out your supplies. Snow's coming down heavy and I think we might get snowed in tonight."

Heero watched as Duo trekked into his kitchen and poked around his fridge and cupboards. "Hmm, should have known," he muttered to himself before heading to the bathroom. A minute later he re-emerged, grumbling under his breath. "You're sorely lacking in stuff man. I'll be back in an hour so. No, make that two. You good until then?" he asked as he shrugged into Heero's light gray coat.

Heero nodded.

"I'll take your word for it then. You have my number if something comes up?"

Heero nodded again.

"Ok, well in the meantime, here," Duo placed two water bottles on the coffee table, next to Heero's foot. One bottle was full, the other one was empty.

"Why are you leaving me an empty bottle?"

"It's called planning ahead. And for the record, you pulled off more hair-brained shit then I did during the wars."

"Hn."

"I've got half a mind to not leave you the bottle for still being such a dick but then again you'd probably pull some stupid shit like trying to get to the bathroom yourself and then I'll be stuck here for the extra weeks it'll take you to heal."

"Hn," Heero repeated again as the door snicked shut behind Duo.

"I heard that!" Duo shouted back through the door.

* * *

"Man I'm drained," Duo sighed as he flopped down heavily on the armchair across from Heero with a bottle of beer in hand. "Ugh," he grimaced as he took his first sip, "it's warm. You'd think two hours in the freezing cold would do the trick."

"You were gone for three and a half," Heero retorted.

"Well if you hadn't noticed, the snow's coming down pretty heavy out there. General consensus is that we might get snowed in over the weekend so everyone was out stocking up on supplies."

Heero glared.

"I can see that you haven't lost your 'I'll kill you glare', even after all these years. But seriously man, you were severely lacking in some essentials."

"What essentials?"

"Well, beer for one. Steak. Oh, and how can you not have shampoo and conditioner? I mean seriously man, soap's good and all but not for you hair! I mean, no wonder it sticks up all crazy like that."

At Duo's words Heero subconsciously reached up and ran his hand through his scruffy hair.

"I gotta say though Heero, this isn't exactly how I expected to find you," Duo gestured to the cozy room around them, "in a place you could almost find homey. I mean you got all the nice furniture, even some knick knacks."

Heero shrugged. "It's just IKEA."

"IKEA?" Duo's eyebrows went up in surprise. "Seriously? Now that you mention it your place does look like one of the pages from their catalogues…"

Heero shrugged again. "I liked the pictures in the catalogue, the rooms looked normal and… inviting."

"Is that so?" Duo took another swig of his beer and grimaced again. "You put the furniture together by yourself?"

Heero nodded.

"Heh, I bet that was fun."

"Fun?"

"Well, the way I hear it, lots of people end up smashing their furniture in the process of trying to assemble it."

"Hn. The instructions were less than optimal. But the furniture is functional and cost-effective."

"Gotcha. Well since you're place is a one-bedroom, I'm guessing the lucky item of functional and cost-effective furniture I'm going to be sleeping on tonight is the couch you're sitting on right now."

"You can take the bedroom, I'll sleep here." Heero replied quickly.

"No way in hell. I'm not taking an injured man's bed. And the sooner you get better, the sooner I can get back to L2."

Heero didn't respond.

"Well I really need to crash soon so let's get this show on the road. Dinner first and then your meds. After that it's bedtime."

"It's three o'clock in the afternoon," Heero commented blandly.

"Oh yeah?" Duo drained his bottle as he rose from his seat. "Well buddy, I've been up for 40 hours straight, the first 35 or so of those I spent thinking that we might be on the brink of another war or rebellion so excuse me if I'm a little tired," he snapped half-heartedly.

"I'm sorry," Heero stated quietly. "I made a mistake calling -"

"Look, it's fine ok? I'm just getting too old to be running around for days without sleep," Duo interrupted Heero as he pulled out two frozen dinners from the freezer he'd just stocked.

"Thirty isn't old."

"Well I don't know about you but some days it feels plenty old," Duo slammed the microwave door shut.

"I'm sorry."

"Yeah, you said that. Just drop it, I'll be good after I get some sleep."

"I shouldn't have…"

"Shit Heero, you're not gonna hand me a gun and ask me to shoot you are you?"

"How do you know about that?"

Duo gave him a pointed look.

"That was over fifteen years ago Duo."

"Uh huh. It's been fifteen years but shooting you is still a major temptation, especially when you're being an unreasonable dick."

"You did shoot me. Twice."

Duo chuckled. "Don't tell me you still hold a grudge," he asked as his chuckle grew into full blown laughter.

"It's been fifteen years Duo."

"So you keep saying," Duo said as he retrieved the two steaming dinners from the microwave and handed one to Heero. "What?" he asked in exasperation as Heero grimaced.

"One of these dinners has 87% of the daily recommended sodium intake."

"Seriously Heero, I'm old, I'm tired, I'm cranky and I'm starving," Duo growled, peeling the plastic off his microwave dinner. "So shut up and eat your dinner," he ordered as he shoved a piece of hamburger meat into his mouth.

"Or what?" Heero asked humourlessly. "You'll shoot me?"

Duo paused mid-chew and stared the man sitting across from him with his foot propped up on the coffee table and staring petulantly at the tray of food on his lap. "Heh," he chuckled. "Nah, I'll just stab you with my spork."

* * *

 _AN: Yes, yes I should be working on other things. But then I got the message about the Endless Reflection Challenge and my muses couldn't resist. A 20th anniversary is nothing to scoff at. Not complete yet but getting there. Will have the whole thing up by June 1st, promise!_

 _Trying something a little light-hearted and fun. Hope you enjoy._


	2. The Artistry of Pancakes

_The Artistry of Pancakes_

* * *

"Hey, do you need to call in sick to work or something?"

"I'm not sick."

Duo rolled his eyes. "Semantics Heero. Shouldn't you call to take some time off? Arrange to go on short-term disability or something?"

"I already did."

"Oh yeah? When?"

"Before you got here."

"Efficient as always," Duo sighed, grabbing a beer from the fridge.

"It's eleven," Heero commented as Duo plopped down across from him.

"Uh huh," Duo nodded amicably.

"In the morning," Heero replied in monotone.

"Yep." Duo nodded again. "But it is 7 o'clock on L2. 7 o'clock in the evening," Duo corrected.

"Do you have to call work?" Heero asked in turn.

"Nope." Duo took a long sip of beer.

"You're unemployed," Heero stated bluntly.

"God Heero, you're such a dick, always assuming I'm some sort of washout," Duo grumbled before grinning cheekily. "I'll have you know that I own my own company with about 20 employees under my thumb. Oh, and it's a pretty profitable business too!"

Heero's brow rose in surprise. "Your own company?"

"Yup, I cornered a niche market in the salvage and restoration business."

"Are you sure you can be away for so long?"

Duo shrugged. "I can deal with things remotely from here. I'm not super big on micro-managing and I've got a good crew. Honestly I'd rather be working in the yard with the rest of the guys than running the business. Besides, why are you suddenly so concerned with my work now? You didn't seem too concerned about it when you dragged my ass down here."

Heero fidgeted uncomfortably. "I didn't even think of it."

"You know, I've been wondering since I got here, why me? I mean, Quatre's got an army of manservants that could take care of you, Trowa's already played Florence Nightingale for you and Wufei… well, I can see why you didn't call him but I'm sure he'd still help you out…"

"I knew you'd come."

"Like I'd ignore our old war code. None of us would," Duo scoffed.

Heero chewed on the inside of his cheek before speaking. "I knew you'd help me."

Duo huffed and ruffled his bangs in frustration. "Any of us would help you Heero. Just because we've been at peace for over a decade doesn't mean we aren't brothers at arms anymore."

"No I mean," Heero paused, choosing his words carefully, "you don't think I'm super-human."

"Well yeah Heero, I might have teased you about being the Perfect Soldier but you're flesh and blood just like the rest of us. You just didn't act like it most of the time. At least this time you got professional medical treatment instead of being a moron and setting your leg yourself. Come to think of it, that might be why you managed to break your leg so spectacularly this time around."

Heero glared at Duo.

"Hey now! I still have nightmares about that time! I go to all the trouble of busting you out of that hospital, and you jump without your parachute!"

"I had the parachute," Heero contradicted.

"Technicalities Heero, you didn't pull the damn thing!"

"I did."

"Yeah, just at the last fucking second! God, I'll never forget the sound your leg made when you landed," Duo shuddered as he took a long swig of his beer. "And then you had to go and just snap the bone back into place."

Heero shrugged.

"Heh," Duo laughed humourlessly, "kinda ironic that over a decade later I'm actually nursing you back to health for a broken leg. Hell, this might even be therapeutic for me."

* * *

"I make good pancakes."

Heero raised a skeptical brow but didn't say anything.

"I'm serious man, I can make a killer stack of pancakes!"

Heero remained silent.

"Well I don't hear you saying no so pancakes it is." Duo began whistling a cheery tune as he pulled a bag of flour out of the cupboard.

"Pancakes aren't a proper nutritional dinner," Heero finally spoke up.

"Well Heero, it's gotta be pancakes because we're out of almost everything but milk, butter, sugar and eggs! Oh, and baking powder. I still can't get over how you've got baking powder."

"I made a cake," Heero admitted somewhat reluctantly.

Duo's eyes went round. "You made a cake?"

Heero shrugged.

"Why?"

"Because."

"Uh huh," Duo nodded as he rolled his eyes. "Trying to have a conversation with you is like pulling teeth."

"Do you ever get tired of talking?"

"Nope," Duo replied easily as he whisked the flour, sugar and baking powder together.

"I don't want pancakes."

"Too bad Heero. We've been snowed in for over a week and its slim pickings."

"But-" Heero tried to argue but was quickly interrupted by Duo.

"Word of advice Heero, don't argue with the cook."

"Hn."

"That's more like it," Duo stated as he cracked two eggs. "You got a squeeze bottle around here somewhere?"

"A what?" Heero asked as he watched Duo rummage through his cupboards.

"A condiment bottle… aha! Found one." Duo brandished a bottle full of oil.

"What are you doing?"

"Just wait," Duo grinned as he poured the oil into an empty bowl and filled up the bottle with the pancake batter.

"Hn." Heero grunted and wheeled his chair out of the kitchen. "You could go out for more groceries…"

"Not going to happen buddy. It was bad enough ducking out to grab your wheelchair yesterday. Traffic was a nightmare because of the snow, wrangling that thing into the trunk of my car was a nightmare and don't even get me started on the million stairs in this building."

"There aren't a million stairs," Heero grumbled as he kept his back to Duo. He could hear the pan sizzle as the batter hit the pan.

"What did I tell you about pissing off the cook?" Duo called back. "And if you wanted a freaking chair in the first place, why did you reject the one the hospital offered you when they discharged you?"

"Hn."

"Well if you can't add any more to the conversation than grunts, you might as well set the table."

"I'm in a wheelchair."

Duo continued to add batter to the sizzling pan. "And? I'm not asking you to pilot a gundum or even rescue a cat off a roof. It's a freaking table. Plates, knives, forks and some napkins will do the trick."

"Hn."

Twenty minutes later Heero sullenly glared at Duo as the grinning man slid a stack of pancakes onto his plate.

"Enjoy!" Duo sat down across from Heero at the table and grabbed a bottle of syrup.

Heero finally looked down at his plate and his eyes widened in surprise. "Why are they in the shape of a bear? And a rocket? And a...?" Heero turned his plates

"Pineapple," Duo grinned around a mouthful of pancake. "I also made a cat, you know, in honour of our current living arrangement."

Heero continued to stare at his plate. "Why?" he finally asked.

"Force of habit I guess."

"Habit?"

"Yeah, I used to make these for Junior all the time."

"Junior?" Heero asked, still not touching his plate.

"Yeah," Duo's demeanour damped. "Duo Junior."

Heero's eyes widened to comical proportions. "You have a son?"

"Yeah," Duo replied shoving another forkful of pancake into his mouth. "What?" he finally asked as Heero continued to stare at him.

"I didn't know you had a son."

"You didn't know?" Duo raised an incredulous brow. "I would have sworn that you would have kept tabs on me or at least tagged my records."

"I stopped hacking ."

"Well I'll be damned," Duo commented as he fiddled with the syrup bottle. "Mr. 'I don't understand the meaning of privacy' stopped hacking."

"How old is he?"

"Thirteen," Duo grinned wryly.

"He was born right after Mariemaia's Rebellion?" Heero blinked in surprise.

"Well... more like eight months after, he was born a month early."

"His mother's that girl," Heero surmised.

"Not _that girl_ Heero, her name's Hilde."

"She must be upset that you're here."

"Nope. Doesn't even know I'm here."

"Aren't you married?"

"Divorced actually. And how did you know we were married."

"You would have done the right thing."

"Ha!" Duo laughed bitterly. "More like I did the wrong thing."

"What happened?"

"We were young and naïve, it didn't work out, we got divorced and now Junior hates me. The usual you know?"

"What really happened?"

Duo sighed.

"I didn't have a clue how to live a normal life but I wanted to give Hilde and Duo a normal life, wanted to make sure they never wanted for anything. Only way I knew how, at least legally, was to work my ass off. I'd take month-long salvage jobs, was never really home and when I was, I spoiled Junior rotten. Well, next thing you know, Hilde left me for another guy and my kid's turned into a giant, spoiled dick because I acted more like a friend than a father. Now I'm a divorced father of the world's biggest brat. So yeah, the usual."

"I thought parents were supposed to love their kids unconditionally."

"Oh I love him and I'd do anything for him. I still think he's a dick though. In fact, he reminds me of you a lot," Duo laughed weakly.

"Of me?"

"Yeah, he's got the 'I don't give a fuck about anyone else' attitude. Like I said, I failed in the father department and he's turned into a little psychopath."

"Is he with Hilde right now?"

"Boarding school."

"Boarding school?"

"Yeah, military boarding school to be exact."

"Why did you send him to military school?" Heero asked, sitting up straight. "You hate any type of military organization."

"It was either that or juvie."

"What did he do?"

"He stole a cop car and took it for a joyride."

"That sounds more like you than me," Heero commented.

Duo laughed bitterly. "Yeah, I forgot that I was a bit of a hellion before I met 'Scythe."

"He'll be fine."

"Oh yeah? How can you be so sure?"

"Because he's your son." Heero answered honestly.

"I have no fucking clue what you're getting at," Duo sighed. "Are you trying to comfort me or something?"

Heero shrugged.

"I don't want to talk about this anymore," Duo sighed. "It's depressing." Duo rose from his seat and placed his plate and cutlery in the sink before opening the fridge and grabbing a beer. "And eat your damn dinner," he commanded, "I already have a bratty kid, I don't need another one."

"And if I don't?" Heero challenged.

Duo blinked at him before breaking into laughter. "I'll send you to bed without any dinner."

* * *

 _AN: This one took a bit of a darker turn. One more chapter to go._


	3. The Impracticality of BBQs

_The Impracticality of BBQs_

* * *

"What is that monstrosity and where did it come from?" Duo asked as he dropped Heero's keys on the table next to the door to Heero's apartment.

"It's a Christmas arrangement."

"Uh huh," Duo commented as he skirted around the overflowing bouquet taking over Heero's dining room table. "That explains the what, but I'm still waiting for the where."

"My work sent it."

"Work? Work must really like you. That is some elaborate bouquet." Duo placed two bags of groceries on the kitchen counter.

"Seasonal bouquets are Amy's specialty."

"Wait what? Who's Amy?"

"My boss."

Duo rubbed at his forehead. "I think I'm missing something here. You got a Christmas bouquet from your boss Amy and her specialty is seasonal bouquets?"

"I'm a florist's assistant."

Duo's mouth fell open in shock. "You… you… you work in a flower shop?" Duo stuttered.

"A florist's shop, yes."

"You're shitting me right?"

"No."

"Why?"

"My therapist suggested that I find a low-stress job."

"At a flower shop?"

"Not at first," Heero, "I tried a lot of jobs before I started working for Amy. I've been working for her for five years."

"And you stuck with florist's assistant because?" Duo grabbed a beer from the fridge.

"It helped me come to peace with an old memory."

"Huh."

"I still can't wrap my mind around you working in a flower shop. Here I was thinking you were in some sort of IT field…"

"I told you Duo, I gave up hacking."

"IT doesn't automatically mean hacking Heero. And when were you going to tell me you wrap flowers for a living?"

Heero glared. "I don't just wrap flowers. And you didn't ask."

"True enough." Duo flopped down on a dining room chair and scrutinized the Christmas arrangement. "Well it sure is something, I'll give you that. Shit, I can't believe it's almost that time of the year again."

"Christmas?"

"Well yeah, that too, but the anniversary of the end of the wars…" Duo trailed off with a distant look in his eyes.

"Are you going to see your son during Christmas?"

"Not this year but next. Hilde has him for Christmas this year. Good thing too since I'll probably need to stay through the new year until you get your cast off."

"You won't see him until next Christmas?"

"Nah, I'll see him at Easter and for a month during the summer. It's all good. You got any plans for Christmas and the New Year?"

"You're going to be here."

"Well yeah, but you didn't have any plans before you broke your leg?"

Heero shook his head. "Christmas is one of the busiest times for Amy's shop. We do a lot of the decorating for a lot of the big Christmas and New Years functions."

"They gonna be ok without you this year?" Duo rolled his half-empty beer bottle between his hands.

"Amy always hires extra-help during the holidays so she should be fine. It's how I first started out."

"Oh yeah?" Duo asked nonchalantly, careful not to seem overeager when Heero was in a talkative mood, "what other jobs did you do before this one?"

Heero shrugged. "This and that. I was a cashier at the grocery store, I worked as a mechanic, as a valet at a restaurant, as a mover, for a moving company, some other shorter term jobs."

Duo frowned slightly. "Other than working as a mechanic, those all sound like minimum-wage jobs Heero."

Heero shrugged again. "I don't have any real skills other than piloting, hacking and killing."

Duo sighed heavily, "Don't say that Heero. I still can't believe you gave up hacking though. The piloting and killing yeah but not the hacking."

Heero's lips twitched upwards ever so slightly. "Says the man with a bagful of guns, ammo and knives."

"You went through my stuff?"

"You were out. I was bored."

"Yeah, because all you do is stare out the window and read. And I had a hell of a time smuggling those things down here. I almost contacted my old war suppliers for come C4 too. I thought we were going into battle again."

"You miss it." It was a statement and not a question.

Duo inhaled sharply and finished the remainder of his beer in a single gulp. "To be honest Heero, I really do. Even though it was terrifying, horrible and I woke up thinking that every day was my last, things were simpler you know? Simpler in that all I had to focus on was surviving to see another day. That's fucked up right?"

"No." Heero's answer was simple.

"I'll never forget the day I woke up and realized we were truly a peace, that there wasn't a question that I was going to make it through the day," Duo continued, "and I remember feeling so fucking hollow because I didn't have a clue how to leave a normal life. Not to mention I found out pretty quick that I had a kid on the way. I was so exhilarated but so fucking terrified at the same time. I don't even know how to describe the feeling…"

"Like jumping without a parachute?"

Duo laughed. "God, you're such a dick Heero. I've always wondered, what the fuck was going on through your head that day."

"I failed my mission. I didn't know what purpose I had left."

"What changed? I mean, you clearly changed your mind at the last minute."

"Relena. I thought she might know what purpose I had, what path I was supposed to take."

"Seriously? I was under the impression that you'd just met her at that time. How could you have thought something like that?"

"I just did."

"Don't tell me it was destiny or something," Duo grimaced.

Heero glared. "Don't be stupid Duo."

"Yeah, yeah, stupid Duo," Duo repeated sarcastically. "But seriously, what happened to you two. I thought you two would hook up, or that you'd at least stalk her for the rest of her life."

"Stalk her?" Heero continued to glare.

"Ok, poor choice of words. But I would have thought that you'd continue to watch over from the shadows at the very least, make sure that she's safe. Heck, I was expecting you to keep an on all of us."

"Why would you think that?"

"Well, because you clearly cared a lot for Relena during the wars. As for us ex-pilots, well, you know damn well that we're the biggest threats to peace. You never know when of us could get caught up in the next war or hell, we could even turn around and start a war ourselves."

Heero nodded. "I did think of that."

"But?" Duo prodded.

"I decided that I wasn't going to fight anymore."

"Well I've said that a million times too, but I damn well know that I'm be in the thick of things the next time a war rolls around, even if I'm a crotchety seventy-year old man," Duo smiled thinly. "And so will you, it's just the way we are Heero. It's in our DNA."

Heero shrugged. "Maybe. But I wanted to stop looking for signs of the next war. Because if you look for signs of war, you'll find them no matter where you look."

Duo sighed. "I guess you got a point there. You see what you want to see, or at least for us, you see what you've been trained to see. So going back to my earlier question, whatever happened to you and Relena?"

"I couldn't give her what she wanted."

"Which was what? Kinky sex?" Duo teased.

"Duo…" Heero growled.

"God, I was just joking Heero!"

"A knight."

"A night? She wanted just a night? Oh wait, no, you're talking about a knight in shining armour aren't you?"

Heero nodded.

"Er… I don't really follow Heero."

"She had this ideal of what I should be. I couldn't meet that ideal."

"Couldn't? Or didn't even try because you'd decided ahead of time that you weren't knight material?" Duo prodded.

Heero shrugged.

"Ugh," Duo stood up and returned to the fridge to grab another beer. "All this talk is reminding me of my divorce. I'm gonna make dinner and we can watch a movie while we eat."

"Eating while watching TV is a bad habit," Heero objected.

"Oh yeah? Well I think it's a fantastic practice. Plus, with that monstrosity taking over the dining room table, we're gonna have to eat in the living room. And there's a TV in the living room," Duo grinned, "we shouldn't let it go to waste."

"Hn."

"You know you can't argue with my flawless logic," Duo called back, laughter tinging his voice.

* * *

"Hey, this apartment has a rooftop patio and grill doesn't it?" Duo asked as he came out of the bathroom, vigorously toweling his hair.

Heero nodded from where he was sitting in the living room, absorbed in another book.

"I got an awesome idea."

"What?" Heero asked automatically before he deciphered what Duo was thinking. "Don't be stupid Duo. It's snowing outside."

"But the grill's covered right?"

"Yes," Heero replied reluctantly.

"Awesome! We're gonna have a BBQ!"

Before Heero could protest again, Duo had retreated back into the bathroom and Heero could hear the hair-dryer start.

"That idiot," Heero muttered under his breath as he glared at his leg, still encased in a heavy plaster cast and propped up on the coffee table.

Ten minutes later Duo emerged from the bathroom, gathering his hair up into a fluffy bun. "Don't worry Heero, you're gonna love this."

Heero remained sullenly silent as he watched as Duo grabbed a coat and Heero's keys and dashed out the door. "Be back in a flash! Don't go anywhere!"

"I can't," Heero grumbled as the door snicked shut behind the over-excited man.

* * *

"This is stupid," Heero grumbled for the tenth time as he sat ensconced in the covered gazebo on his apartment building's rooftop, bundled in blankets with his injured leg also swathed in blankets and propped up on another chair.

"No," Duo corrected from where he was grilling the steaks, "this is great! I mean, what better way to celebrate the anniversary of the Eve Wars than with an outdoor BBQ?"

"It's snowing."

"Mother nature at her finest," Duo commented good-naturedly. "Steaks are just about done," Duo turned around to look at Heero and laughed. "Do you know how ridiculous you look, sulking like that? It's like I'm looking at a giant thirty-something-year-old baby."

"This isn't funny Duo."

"Sure it is. That expression on your neighbour's face, when I was carrying you up here was priceless."

"Mrs. Henderson thought you were kidnapping me."

"Well that might have something to do with the fact that you told her that I was 'an idiot who was taking you to the roof against your will'," Duo broke off into full-blown laughter. "She was very understanding after I explained that I was taking my poor invalid and cranky friend to the roof to get some fresh air. Hell, she even gave us some cookies for our dessert!"

Heero glared.

"Oh come on Heero, you'll change your mind once you taste my steaks. No one can beat my BBQ sauce!"

"Hn."

"All done!" Duo handed Heero a plate with a large slab of steak slathered in sauce and a baked potato covered in foil. "Fixins for the potato are on the tray next to you."

Heero accepted the plate and awkwardly balanced it on his lap. "It's good," he admitted after his first bite.

"Right?" Duo grinned, already four bites into his steak with sauce dribbling down his chin. "You can't beat a good BBQ. Man, this is the life!" he said as he leaned back into the cushions of the seat across from Heero. "On days like this, I really feel like it was all worth it."

"You mean fighting in the wars?"

"Yeah, but not just that. Everything that's happened, the good the bad and the ugly. I'm thankful that I went through it all because it's led me to where I am today."

"Having a BBQ in the middle of winter on a rooftop in New York?"

Duo laughed. "Stop being such a literal dick and just enjoy the moment will you?"

Heero shrugged and carefully began to unwrap his potato.

"When do you get your cast off again?" Duo asked as he watched the snow fall as he chewed.

"Next Tuesday," Heero answered after swallowing a bite of potato.

"So you should be good on your own soon enough right?"

Heero nodded.

"Guess I'll start looking into shuttle tickets soon. The guys at the company are starting to grumble and you'll be happy to have your own space back again."

Heero nodded again, his mood subdued. "Thank you Duo… for everything."

Duo quirked a brow before grinning. "Now those are two words I never thought I'd hear from you. You're welcome buddy. And I expect to hear from you regularly from now you hear? At least more often than once in a decade."

Heero nodded in agreement. "We could meet again for a wintertime BBQ," he suggested hesitantly.

Duo's mouth dropped open in shock before he chuckled. "It's a deal Heero. It'll be a new tradition for us, a BBQ to celebrate the peace. Hell, I'll bring Junior along next time and you can teach him to be a proper dick."

"Hn," Heero grunted while looking down to hide a small smile.

"I'm really gonna miss those grunts of yours," Duo commented cheekily as he gazed back out at the wintertime cityscape. "Hey Heero."

"Hn?"

"You know the cat that made you fall off the roof?"

"Yes," Heero replied reluctantly. The impish grin on Duo's face was making him nervous.

"It wasn't an orange tabby by any chance was it?"

"Yes…why?"

Duo's grin widened. "It's on your neighbour's roof again."

Heero blinked in stunned silence before throwing back his head and laughing.

* * *

 _AN:_ _And finally done (just in the nick of time!) Thanks for reading and thanks for all of the lovely reviews!_

 _Maririn_


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